Havana, Cuba, Mar 15, 2004 / 22:00 pm
Several parishes in Havana, Cuba, have been temporarily converted into theaters in order to show the movie “The Passion of the Christ,” with the blessing of the Cuban Bishops Conference.
Although many Cubans worried the film would never be shown on the island, St. Rita’s Parish is one of the churches where Catholics are able to view the movie, according to statements made by Fr. José Félix Pérez Riera, secretary of the conference, to the news agency EFE.
Fr. Pérez said the first to see the film will be catechists, married couples and young people, but the idea is to allow everybody to see it before Holy Week, except for those under 14 years of age.
According to Fr. Pérez, the movie “can contribute to serious spiritual reflection, and even to a personal encounter with Jesus Christ, who sustains our faith and hope.” The film “reflects the suffering of Christ when he carries the cross and the experience of humiliation and condemnation,” and for this reason, he added, in the controversy surrounding the film “there is a certain hypocrisy in the commentaries and criticisms that claim it is too violent.”